Continuing with 7-8, they then throw this nasty little section at you, where you have to get over a big pipe with a Pirahna Plant in it. You have to get a running start but it's difficult because of the two Pirahna Plants constantly shooting fireballs at you from above and the Pirahna Plant popping in and out of the pipe you're trying to jump onto. A nightmare of an obstacle.
Now these things right here are a complete nuisance to deal with, they're called a "Ptooie." This specific type of Piranha Plant made its debut in Super Mario Bros. 3. They're basically a Pirahna Plant that has made it's way out of the pipe and is walking around freely, they stand in front of you moving back and forth, blowing a metal spiked ball up and down into the air, they're hell to get past if you don't have a power-up. This section of 7-8 is rough, they put a Ptooie in front of you followed by a Venus Fire Trap in a pipe.
7-8 is so unforgiving, it's just one bad thing after another. Next you come upon two pipes, one on the ground and one directly over the top of it, both of them have hostile plant enemies protruding from them, a Venus Fire Trap and a Pirahna Plant. If that isn't bad enough, they both have a tendency to pop out at the same time, leaving you with no way through. You also have to watch out for the Venus Fire Trap shooting fireballs at you from behind and the little white "Nipper Plant" on the ground. You have no choice but to stand there, juggle multiple hazards, and wait for an opening, wasting valuable time. It's sinister because they essentially turn the time clock into a weapon against you, so you're dealing with the enemies themselves and the time clock.
Next in 7-8 comes this hellacious sequence. You have to make it across a bridge that breaks into fragments, you can't afford to make a mistake because Munchers and Nipper Plants are waiting underneath and they will make you pay. You then have to jump from the last fragment of the bridge over a gap filled with hostile plants and onto a pipe. You then have to jump another gap and land on a pipe. Then you have a showdown with two Ptooie plants, one in a pipe and one moving around freely, both blowing metal spiked balls into the air. Check out the bottom photo of small Mario stuck in between two Ptooie plants, a death sandwich.
After you make it through all of that chaos and you think you're finally about to get out of the 7-8 deathrap, they put these two little nipper plants on a platform in front of you. I remember thinking to myself, "these guys are nothing, I'll blow right past them." And then the first Nipper Plant opens up on you out of nowhere with a stream of fireballs from his mouth. I was small Mario and was hit and killed instantly and had to do the level all over again. Unless you have a Hammer Suit, Fireball Suit, or P-Wing power-up, you're probably not getting through this stage as big Mario, there's just too much coming at you and you're eventually going to take at least one hit. Overall, this stage took me out at least 30 times before I got through it.
I'm telling you, World 7, Pipe Land, is the most difficult World in Super Mario Bros 3. to get through, it's just a savage gauntlet of levels. Right after you get through with 7-8, they send you to the second Fortress. This level torched me for about 40 lives before I finally made it though. The Fortress starts off with a nightmare jump, you have to jump over this nasty lava pit and land on top of an elevated pipe with a Pirahna Plant popping in and out of it. This jump alone took me out over a dozen times.
Once you make that jump, they give you this one to chew on. Over a lava pit and into a small pipe with a Pirahna Plant popping in and out of it, except this pipe has a "Boo" guarding it. Boos are little ghosts, when you face them, they stop and cover their faces. When you turn your back or look away, they float right toward you and hit you. So you have to worry about the jump itself, avoiding the Pirahna Plant, and the Boo being on top of you the second you land. I'm telling you, the Boo enemy is no joke, if you don't get far enough ahead to get him off of you, they'll follow you through the whole level.
Next it's this little nugget, you have to jump on a little ball platform with a laser orb floating in a counter clockwise circle around it, all while keeping the Boo off of you. You have to land perfectly on the little ball platform and avoid falling into the lava, and instantly turn around to keep the Boo off of you. This is one of the reasons I love difficult video games, they throw all kinds of problems at you that you have to figure out.
After landing on the little ball platform, you have to turn around and keep the Boo off of you, and you can see that you have another nasty jump, to a pipe with a Pirahna Plant in it. You have to avoid getting hit by the laser orb, make the jump while avoiding the Pirahna Plant, and make sure the Boo is kept at bay. Problem solving 101.
After you make that jump, you come upon this section, with two brick platforms suspended over a lava pit, and a Venus Fire Trap right in your face. Make sure to turn around and keep that Boo off of you. Gosh, just look at the sheer chaos of this spot.
This next section of the second Pipe Land Fortress is one of the most difficult spots in the entire franchise, this section cost me countless lives before I finally made it through. You have to jump from a pipe, onto a pipe with a "Thwomp" suspended over it and then onto an elevated pipe with a Pirahna Plant in it. A Thwomp is a big stone block that makes an angry face and comes crashing down the second you get too close to it. When you jump onto that middle pipe, that Thwomp is going to unload and drop on you, so you have about a nanosecond to land on the middle pipe and make a difficult jump upward and onto an elevated pipe with a Pirahna Plant in it, and you have to time it perfectly so you don't hit the Pirahna Plant in the elevated pipe. Just a nightmare of a section.
Then it's on to this jump, over a Boo and lava pit and into a set of pipes with Piranha Plants in them. Make sure to turn around and keep that Boo off of you!
Then onto a pair of pipes, lined up, with Piranha Plants in both of them. You have to keep an eye on the Boo and simultaneously keep an eye on the Pirahna Plants to look for an opening to get through. What makes this section nasty is the Venus Fire Trap waiting on you as soon as you get through.
This is the end of the brutal lava room section of the Fortress, you have to jump into this pipe without falling into the lava, with a Boo stalking you nonetheless. What an ugly, ugly obstacle. Good luck getting in that pipe.
Once you make it down that pipe, you go to the second section of the Fortress, and this is the first obstacle they throw your way. You have to figure out a way under a column with a laser orb floating around it, and two "Dry Bones" marching toward you. Dry Bones are skeleton versions of Koopa Troopas that first appeared in this game. They are found mostly in fortresses and castles. Stomping on them causes them to collapse into a pile of bones, but they reassemble and revive shortly after. They can only be permanently beaten using a Starman or a Hammer Suit but if you don't have either, you better stomp them and get a move on. Back to to the column, if you're big Mario, you're going to have to get a running start and slide under that column, if you're small Mario, you can walk under it. Either way, you're dealing with that laser orb.
And after you get underneath the column by a hair, guess what, there's another column with a laser orb on the other side, and this one has a Thwomp waiting to smash you when you go underneath it. Folks, I'm not kidding when I say the difficulty of Super Mario Bros. 3 is no joke.
Level 7-9 in Pipe Land is one of the most confusing and frustrating levels in the game, it's one big maze of pipes that you have to figure your way through. The clock is your enemy in this level, and time expired on me many times trying to figure out the correct way to go.
One last thing I want to mention before we leave World 7, Pipe Land, are the "Pirahna Plant levels." You can see them on the Pipe Land map here, the little Pirahna Plant icon sitting in front of the locked gate in the top photo and sitting in front of the bridge in the bottom photo. There are two of these levels in Pipe Land and they are exactly what you would think they would be, hostile plant levels, Pirahna Plants, Venus Fire Traps, and Munchers.
I want to talk about World 3 in Super Mario Bros. 3, Water Land. This Land is a blast to play, every level is either partially or fully submerged in water, it's a break from the normal level play of the game. But the levels do get brutally difficult.
Comments
Continuing with 7-8, they then throw this nasty little section at you, where you have to get over a big pipe with a Pirahna Plant in it. You have to get a running start but it's difficult because of the two Pirahna Plants constantly shooting fireballs at you from above and the Pirahna Plant popping in and out of the pipe you're trying to jump onto. A nightmare of an obstacle.
Then this. I told you, this level is just littered with hostile plant enemies.
Now these things right here are a complete nuisance to deal with, they're called a "Ptooie." This specific type of Piranha Plant made its debut in Super Mario Bros. 3. They're basically a Pirahna Plant that has made it's way out of the pipe and is walking around freely, they stand in front of you moving back and forth, blowing a metal spiked ball up and down into the air, they're hell to get past if you don't have a power-up. This section of 7-8 is rough, they put a Ptooie in front of you followed by a Venus Fire Trap in a pipe.
7-8 is so unforgiving, it's just one bad thing after another. Next you come upon two pipes, one on the ground and one directly over the top of it, both of them have hostile plant enemies protruding from them, a Venus Fire Trap and a Pirahna Plant. If that isn't bad enough, they both have a tendency to pop out at the same time, leaving you with no way through. You also have to watch out for the Venus Fire Trap shooting fireballs at you from behind and the little white "Nipper Plant" on the ground. You have no choice but to stand there, juggle multiple hazards, and wait for an opening, wasting valuable time. It's sinister because they essentially turn the time clock into a weapon against you, so you're dealing with the enemies themselves and the time clock.
Next in 7-8 comes this hellacious sequence. You have to make it across a bridge that breaks into fragments, you can't afford to make a mistake because Munchers and Nipper Plants are waiting underneath and they will make you pay. You then have to jump from the last fragment of the bridge over a gap filled with hostile plants and onto a pipe. You then have to jump another gap and land on a pipe. Then you have a showdown with two Ptooie plants, one in a pipe and one moving around freely, both blowing metal spiked balls into the air. Check out the bottom photo of small Mario stuck in between two Ptooie plants, a death sandwich.
After you make it through all of that chaos and you think you're finally about to get out of the 7-8 deathrap, they put these two little nipper plants on a platform in front of you. I remember thinking to myself, "these guys are nothing, I'll blow right past them." And then the first Nipper Plant opens up on you out of nowhere with a stream of fireballs from his mouth. I was small Mario and was hit and killed instantly and had to do the level all over again. Unless you have a Hammer Suit, Fireball Suit, or P-Wing power-up, you're probably not getting through this stage as big Mario, there's just too much coming at you and you're eventually going to take at least one hit. Overall, this stage took me out at least 30 times before I got through it.
I'm telling you, World 7, Pipe Land, is the most difficult World in Super Mario Bros 3. to get through, it's just a savage gauntlet of levels. Right after you get through with 7-8, they send you to the second Fortress. This level torched me for about 40 lives before I finally made it though. The Fortress starts off with a nightmare jump, you have to jump over this nasty lava pit and land on top of an elevated pipe with a Pirahna Plant popping in and out of it. This jump alone took me out over a dozen times.
Once you make that jump, they give you this one to chew on. Over a lava pit and into a small pipe with a Pirahna Plant popping in and out of it, except this pipe has a "Boo" guarding it. Boos are little ghosts, when you face them, they stop and cover their faces. When you turn your back or look away, they float right toward you and hit you. So you have to worry about the jump itself, avoiding the Pirahna Plant, and the Boo being on top of you the second you land. I'm telling you, the Boo enemy is no joke, if you don't get far enough ahead to get him off of you, they'll follow you through the whole level.
Next it's this little nugget, you have to jump on a little ball platform with a laser orb floating in a counter clockwise circle around it, all while keeping the Boo off of you. You have to land perfectly on the little ball platform and avoid falling into the lava, and instantly turn around to keep the Boo off of you. This is one of the reasons I love difficult video games, they throw all kinds of problems at you that you have to figure out.
After landing on the little ball platform, you have to turn around and keep the Boo off of you, and you can see that you have another nasty jump, to a pipe with a Pirahna Plant in it. You have to avoid getting hit by the laser orb, make the jump while avoiding the Pirahna Plant, and make sure the Boo is kept at bay. Problem solving 101.
After you make that jump, you come upon this section, with two brick platforms suspended over a lava pit, and a Venus Fire Trap right in your face. Make sure to turn around and keep that Boo off of you. Gosh, just look at the sheer chaos of this spot.
This next section of the second Pipe Land Fortress is one of the most difficult spots in the entire franchise, this section cost me countless lives before I finally made it through. You have to jump from a pipe, onto a pipe with a "Thwomp" suspended over it and then onto an elevated pipe with a Pirahna Plant in it. A Thwomp is a big stone block that makes an angry face and comes crashing down the second you get too close to it. When you jump onto that middle pipe, that Thwomp is going to unload and drop on you, so you have about a nanosecond to land on the middle pipe and make a difficult jump upward and onto an elevated pipe with a Pirahna Plant in it, and you have to time it perfectly so you don't hit the Pirahna Plant in the elevated pipe. Just a nightmare of a section.
Then it's on to this jump, over a Boo and lava pit and into a set of pipes with Piranha Plants in them. Make sure to turn around and keep that Boo off of you!
Then onto a pair of pipes, lined up, with Piranha Plants in both of them. You have to keep an eye on the Boo and simultaneously keep an eye on the Pirahna Plants to look for an opening to get through. What makes this section nasty is the Venus Fire Trap waiting on you as soon as you get through.
This is the next section, you have to work your way past a Thwomp, and onto an elevated pipe with a Boo waiting for you, a nasty little obstacle.
This is the end of the brutal lava room section of the Fortress, you have to jump into this pipe without falling into the lava, with a Boo stalking you nonetheless. What an ugly, ugly obstacle. Good luck getting in that pipe.
Once you make it down that pipe, you go to the second section of the Fortress, and this is the first obstacle they throw your way. You have to figure out a way under a column with a laser orb floating around it, and two "Dry Bones" marching toward you. Dry Bones are skeleton versions of Koopa Troopas that first appeared in this game. They are found mostly in fortresses and castles. Stomping on them causes them to collapse into a pile of bones, but they reassemble and revive shortly after. They can only be permanently beaten using a Starman or a Hammer Suit but if you don't have either, you better stomp them and get a move on. Back to to the column, if you're big Mario, you're going to have to get a running start and slide under that column, if you're small Mario, you can walk under it. Either way, you're dealing with that laser orb.
And after you get underneath the column by a hair, guess what, there's another column with a laser orb on the other side, and this one has a Thwomp waiting to smash you when you go underneath it. Folks, I'm not kidding when I say the difficulty of Super Mario Bros. 3 is no joke.
Level 7-9 in Pipe Land is one of the most confusing and frustrating levels in the game, it's one big maze of pipes that you have to figure your way through. The clock is your enemy in this level, and time expired on me many times trying to figure out the correct way to go.
One last thing I want to mention before we leave World 7, Pipe Land, are the "Pirahna Plant levels." You can see them on the Pipe Land map here, the little Pirahna Plant icon sitting in front of the locked gate in the top photo and sitting in front of the bridge in the bottom photo. There are two of these levels in Pipe Land and they are exactly what you would think they would be, hostile plant levels, Pirahna Plants, Venus Fire Traps, and Munchers.
Some scenes, or should I say horrors, from the "Pirahna Plant" levels.
I want to talk about World 3 in Super Mario Bros. 3, Water Land. This Land is a blast to play, every level is either partially or fully submerged in water, it's a break from the normal level play of the game. But the levels do get brutally difficult.